Democrats win council seats in Kennett Square

11/14/2017 01:57PM
● By Steven Hoffman

Democrats in Chester County achieved
stunning victories on Election Day, winning county-wide row office
positions, judicial races, and seats on local school boards and
borough councils throughout the area.

The wins in the county-wide row offices
were truly historic: No Democrat had ever managed to win one of the
nine row office positions in county-wide races, and in the Nov. 7
election Democrats swept the clerk of courts, controller, coroner and
treasurer races.

Most people pointed to a highly
motivated and energetic Democratic base as the reason for the
success. Voter turnout was significantly higher than it normally is
for an off-year election, and in Chester County more people voted
straight party for Democrats (26,720 votes) than voted straight party
for Republicans (24,818 votes).

“By all measures, Tuesday's election
was a historic win for the Democratic Party in our area. But the
biggest winner was Democracy itself, as voters braved the cold and
rain in unprecedented numbers for an 'off-year' election,” said
Wayne Braffman, the Chair of the Kennett Area Democrats, which
represents the Democratic Party in Avondale, East Marlborough,
Kennett Square, Kennett Township, London Britain, New Garden, Newlin,
Pennsbury, Pocopson and West Marlborough.

One illustration of the Democratic
Party's success on Election Day came in Kennett Square Borough. There
were eight qualified candidates competing for four seats on Kennett
Square Borough Council, and Democrats walked away winning all four
seats as incumbent council members LaToya Myers (569 votes) and Ethan
Cramer (523 votes) and first-time candidates Brenda Mercomes (546
votes) and Peter Waterkotte (524 votes) garnered enough support to
out-poll the top Republican vote-getter by 50 votes.

According to Braffman, the formula for
the victories throughout Chester County was simple. “First,” he
explained, “we fielded exceptionally qualified candidates who put
people first, and second, our volunteers worked with a passion and
commitment normally reserved for Presidential campaigns.”

Democrats won important gubernatorial
races in Virginia and New Jersey, and with the party's gains in
places like Chester County, this year's election results were seen as
a push-back against the policies and politics of President Donald
Trump—and, perhaps, the start of a wave that could transform the
political landscape in 2018.

“Even though these were local
elections, national politics did play a role,” Braffman said.
“Voters across the political spectrum sent a message that they were
not pleased with the direction that President Trump is trying to take
our country. I sincerely hope he was listening.”

Braffman is already looking toward the
2018 election, which will be extremely important both at the state
and national level. He encouraged anyone interested in learning more
about the work of the Kennett Area Democrats to email him at
waynebraffman@yahoo.com or to visit the website
www.KennettAreaDemocrats.com.